JP named 'Best Prog Guitarist In The World Today'

[Herrick]

Not all of them. JP isn't the be all end all of guitar technique, I've heard plenty guitarists do things he's never done, or rarely done if he's ever done it in the first place. I think people are misinterpreting my comments here. I'm not saying he has to progress more. He's under no obligation to do so. He's earned every bit of praise he gets. I'm just saying that I think some of the other people in that list deserve the top spot for this year more. Just my two cents. Of course it is a well deserved honor from those who are fans of prog. No duh. Not sure how to be much clearer about this just being my opinion and not trying to say he's under any obligation to 'be better.' I just think some younger guitarists are doing more interesting things that I've never heard JP do, like what Yvette Young does, or even compared to what he did on Distance Over Time (which, by the way, he did a fantastic job on; they are some of his best riffs and soloing in years, and he's more consistent with the good bits than he's been in a long time imo).

I'm not really talking about technique.  If something sounds different and more interesting, that isn't a valid comparison in the context of what it means to win this award.  Like mentioned above, that technique has been around for decades.  It isn't anything groundbreaking that deserves an award of this magnitude.  So, when you say some of the other players on the list deserve the top spot, well...no they don't.

If pushing the boundaries of Prog isn't a requirement for getting on that list then what exactly are (is?) the criteria for winning this award? Is it basically a list of popular Prog Metal"ish" players who released music this year?

[bosk1]

Well, it says right in the name that it's an award for "best prog guitarist."  It doesn't say "prog guitarist who most pushed the boundaries" or anything like that.  I think it's self-explanatory.

[The Walrus]

*empties gas container over fire pit*

Is it, though? What defines "best"? Is there an objective measurement for "best player"? What criteria were they using when making this list or voting for certain people? etc... 

[bosk1]

And that's totally fair.  It is completely subjective.  And it is wide open to a lot of different interpretations.  And that being the case, again, I'm not sure why anyone would make the leap to "well, it obviously MUST be only for the person who most pushed the boundaries."  That's not what it says at all.

[Adami]

And that's totally fair.  It is completely subjective.  And it is wide open to a lot of different interpretations.  And that being the case, again, I'm not sure why anyone would make the leap to "well, it obviously MUST be only for the person who most pushed the boundaries."  That's not what it says at all.

I personally don't care at all, but I think one reason some people might be a little frustrated is the fact that, unless we introduce some (rather random) standards, it could wind up just being JP year and year simply because of what he did years ago. I can see the idea of someone constantly winning for something they did a while ago, while people doing new and interesting things get passed up for that same reason, is a bit frustrating. It'd be like if Kirk Hammet or Angus Young kept winning best rock guitarist ever polls because people loved MoP and Back in Black so much.

[Herrick]

Cool. So it is pretty much a popularity thing like most of these best of lists are.

And that's totally fair.  It is completely subjective.  And it is wide open to a lot of different interpretations.  And that being the case, again, I'm not sure why anyone would make the leap to "well, it obviously MUST be only for the person who most pushed the boundaries."  That's not what it says at all.

We were just trying to apply some basic reasoning for getting on this list. Perhaps we took it a bit too seriously. I've no problem with the list being a popularity-based thing as most of these "Best Of" lists turn out to be. Kattelox and Herrick were mostly responding to Dublagent66's claim that Petrucci has done everything already.

I'm still going through the list checking out the bands I haven't listened to before. I think I'll start with Thank You Scientist. I've heard good things about them.

[The Walrus]

TYS is very weird but I dig 'em. I just have to be in the right mood for their sound. Check out their cover of Eddie Murphy's Party All The Time though 

[bosk1]

TYS is very weird but I dig 'em. I just have to be in the right mood for their sound. Check out their cover of Eddie Murphy's Party All The Time though 

In that vein, I have to confess that my default is to subconsciously be extremely skeptical of most prog and not be inclined to check it out unless given a specific reason why I would like a particular band.  I just have found, through the years, that I'm not generally a "prog fan," in the general sense.  I like some specific things that some specific "prog"-related bands do.  But I'm not a fan of the genre as a whole, and have found that a lot of the bands that are described as being in that genre generally don't do anything for me.  That isn't to say that there aren't some great bands out there that I have yet to discover.  But it's just my own personal hurdle that I have to actively think about to try to overcome.

[The Walrus]

TYS is very weird but I dig 'em. I just have to be in the right mood for their sound. Check out their cover of Eddie Murphy's Party All The Time though 

In that vein, I have to confess that my default is to subconsciously be extremely skeptical of most prog and not be inclined to check it out unless given a specific reason why I would like a particular band.  I just have found, through the years, that I'm not generally a "prog fan," in the general sense.  I like some specific things that some specific "prog"-related bands do.  But I'm not a fan of the genre as a whole, and have found that a lot of the bands that are described as being in that genre generally don't do anything for me.  That isn't to say that there aren't some great bands out there that I have yet to discover.  But it's just my own personal hurdle that I have to actively think about to try to overcome.

I think we're in the same boat, "not a fan of the genre as a whole."

[hefdaddy42]

By that reasoning, I'm not a fan of ANY genre.

I like bands or acts from a lot of different genres, and some that aren't easily placed in any genre.  But MOST of ANY genre is pretty much shit.

[bosk1]

I wouldn't go that far.  I would absolutely consider myself a "metal" fan.  That isn't to say by any stretch that I like all or even most metal.  But as a whole, it's a genre that I absolutely consider myself to be a fan of. 

And if you want to break it down into subgenres, I can also call myself a general "fan" of several subgenres as well.  It's just that "prog" or even "prog metal" isn't really one of them.

[Samsara]

Re: JP named 'Best Prog Guitarist In The World

Congrats John!

[NoFred]

Re: JP named 'Best Prog Guitarist In The World

Congrats John!

Agreed LOL.

World: JP is the best in 2019
DTF: oh come on! Really?! Please...

[Lethean]

Count me in for JP being the best.